Body weight and gastric acid secretion in rats with subdiaphragmatic vagotomy and lateral hypothalamic lesions.

Investigated the role of the vagus in the lateral hypothalamic (LH) syndrome to body weight loss in 80 male Sprague-Dawley albino rats. Ss were divided into 4 groups: (a) Ss with bilateral LH lesions that were subsequently given a bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, (b) LH Ss that received a control vagotomy operation, (c) nonlesion Ss that were given a subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, and (d) nonlesion Ss that received a control vagotomy operation. Both LH lesions and vagotomy reduced body weight levels, though the effects differed in terms of the length of time required to reach initial maximal loss, the time required to reach chronic levels of maintenance, and the severity of body weight reduction. Fasting gastric acid secretion was lowered by LH lesions, and the extent of this reduction was positively correlated with the reduction in body weight. Gastric contents after a 24-hr fast were greater in vagotomized than in nonvagotomized Ss. These data are discussed in relation to the role of the vagus in maintaining body weight levels and in relation to the changes in gastric functioning after LH lesions and vagotomy. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)